Tag: Tiktok ban

China appeals for fair treatment after latest TikTok bans
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China appeals for fair treatment after latest TikTok bans

[ad_1] China appealed Friday to other governments to treat its companies fairly after Britain and New Zealand joined the United States in restricting use of TikTok due to fears the Chinese-owned short video service might be a security risk.Governments are worried TikTok's owner, ByteDance, might give browsing history or other data about users to China's government or promote propaganda and disinformation. “We call on the countries concerned to recognize the objective facts, effectively respect the market economy” and provide “a non-discriminatory environment" for all companies, said foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. TikTok is one focus of conflicts between China and other governments over technology and security that are disrupting processor chip, smartphone and other industri...
U.S. lawmaker wants TikTok CEO to detail actions to protect kids
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U.S. lawmaker wants TikTok CEO to detail actions to protect kids

[ad_1] The chair of a U.S. House of Representatives panel wants TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to address questions next week about the popular Chinese-owned video app's efforts to protect children from inappropriate content and potential exploitation.Chew will be appearing for the first time before Congress when he testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23. Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, said Thursday lawmakers "need to know what actions the company is taking to keep our kids safe from online and offline harms." McMorris Rodgers and other Republicans in December wrote TikTok saying said "many children are exposed to non-stop offerings of inappropriate content that TikTok's algorithm force-feeds to them." They also raised concerns that TikTok ...
One billion users, but trouble mounts for TikTok
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One billion users, but trouble mounts for TikTok

[ad_1] TikTok's breakneck rise from niche video-sharing app to global social media behemoth has brought plenty of scrutiny, particularly over its links to China.Several governments have banned the app from their equipment over fears that data could be viewed by officials in Beijing, and the United States is now trying to force Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its prized asset. So is TikTok a spying tool for Beijing, a fun video-sharing app, or both? - Under pressure - Global action against TikTok kicked off in earnest in India in 2020.It was among the Chinese apps barred after deadly clashes on the border between India and China, with New Delhi saying it was defending its sovereignty.The same year, US President Donald Trump threatened a ban and accused TikTok of spying for Ch...
US Lawmakers Step Up Push to Ban TikTok With Bill This Week
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US Lawmakers Step Up Push to Ban TikTok With Bill This Week

[ad_1] US Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner plans to introduce a bill this week to allow the US to systematically ban Chinese technology, including services like TikTok, he told Fox News on Sunday. Calling it “a broad bipartisan bill” that will be co-sponsored by Republican John Thune of South Dakota, Warner said the law will give the US the power to ban or prohibit foreign technology where necessary. When asked if that would implicate ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok, he confirmed and elaborated on his reasoning. “You have 100 million Americans on TikTok for 90 minutes every day,” the Democrat from Virginia said. “They are taking data from Americans, not keeping it safe. But what worries me more with TikTok is that this can be a propaganda tool.” TikTok's commercial suc...
EU institutions ban TikTok on work devices
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EU institutions ban TikTok on work devices

[ad_1] The main EU governing institutions on Thursday banned their staff from installing TikTok on devices used for work amid concerns over data protection, in a move that provoked an angry response from the company. TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, has faced increasing Western scrutiny in recent months over fears about how much access Beijing has to user data. The ban affects staff at the European Commission and European Council, which represents member states, but the European Parliament has not yet taken a similar decision. The new rules mean staff cannot use the video-sharing app on work devices and personal devices, such as phones, that have official EU email and communication apps installed. The Commission said its emplo...
Death by a thousand cuts’: U.S. TikTok bans gain ground
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Death by a thousand cuts’: U.S. TikTok bans gain ground

[ad_1] Soon after Texas university students returned to classes in January, they received a note from the IT department informing them of a new rule: they could no longer access TikTok, the popular video app, on university Wi-Fi. Students had mixed feelings. "There are legitimate security concerns with the app," said Adam Nguyen, a 19-year-old computer science major at the University of Texas at Austin. "But people should be able to make their own decisions - this sets a dangerous precedent with the university deciding what sorts of things you can do on the network," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The move comes as part of a swirl of efforts to limit the use of TikTok - which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance - in the United States, over fears that U.S. user data co...
TikTok Reveals Russian Disinformation Network Targeting European Users
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TikTok Reveals Russian Disinformation Network Targeting European Users

[ad_1] TikTok Inc. identified a Russian disinformation network spreading war propaganda about Ukraine to more than a hundred thousand European users over the summer, the company disclosed on Thursday. The network operated in Russia, but targeted mostly people in Germany, Italy and the UK in their respective languages. About 1,700 accounts belonging to the network were able to spread anti-Ukrainian messages by masquerading as accounts created by local users. Between July and September 2022 the accounts attracted 133,564 followers, it added. It is unclear whether the network was linked to the Russian government. The revelations were disclosed in a report submitted under the EU's Code of Practice on Disinformation, a voluntary commitment from online platforms to combat misinformation...
Apple, Google urged to remove TikTok from App Stores by Democratic senator
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Apple, Google urged to remove TikTok from App Stores by Democratic senator

[ad_1] Senator Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat and member of the Intelligence Committee, has asked the chief executive officers of Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google to remove TikTok, the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform, from their app stores, citing “grave” national security concerns. “Like most social media platforms, TikTok collects vast and sophisticated data from its users, including faceprints and voiceprints,” Bennet wrote to Apple's Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai of Alphabet. “Unlike most social media platforms, TikTok poses a unique concern because Chinese law obligates ByteDance, its Beijing-based parent, to ‘support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work.'” He said this “raises the obvious risk that the Chinese Communist Party...
Google’s YouTube Shorts and Meta Find Video App Success Where TikTok Is Banned
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Google’s YouTube Shorts and Meta Find Video App Success Where TikTok Is Banned

[ad_1] Prateek Bhardwaj broke out as a social media star on TikTok, drawing in close to a million followers. Prateek Bhardwaj broke out as a social media star on TikTok's short-video platform, drawing in close to a million followers and a slew of big-brand endorsements. But he's no longer on the app. The 30-year-old from small-town India defected to Moj, one of several Google-backed TikTok clones that sprouted after New Delhi banned the app from China's ByteDance Ltd.'s in 2020. He barely missed a beat: his fan base has ballooned to 3.4 million and the content creator still plugs products from Xiaomi phones to Diageo whiskey. Bhardwaj's smooth transition highlights the opportunity presented by TikTok's banishment from th...